RIP: Gateway 8

The other day while driving through Bountiful I noticed that all the Gateway 8 marquees had been taken down.  A few months ago I heard that the place was closing up for some upgrades, but I get the feeling that isn't the case anymore.

The Gateway 8 has always been a puzzling institution for me.  It was built at the worst possible time in the early '90's, after the dawn of multiplexes, but before they started outfitting them with surround sound and stadium seating.  But before the decade was even out, the Gateway 8 had been relegated to a second-tier venue at best.  Eventually it wasn't even the best place around called "The Gateway."

The last movie I saw there was "Signs" in August of 2002. Yet even in recent years, I would see cars filling up that parking lot, presumably from people who were willing to pay full price for an inferior experience, even though a superior one waited only ten minutes to the north or south.  The Gateway 8 had become Bountiful's second-greatest business mystery next to the old Renny's on 500 West.

But now, like Renny's, it looks like the Gateway 8 has finally given up the ghost.  For years I thought they would be better off converting into a dollar theater like the Sugarhouse 10.  I would have gone all the time if they did that.  Maybe they still will; otherwise the Gateway 8 is just going to be the next theater to join the Davis County graveyard, along with The Sandcastle, The Queen, and the Trolley North.